


hasn't stopped me before

by blackandwhiteandrose



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Canon Compliant, David tells a story, Fluff, Future talk, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Patrick Brewer loves David Rose, Patrick has questions, hot hot communication, maybe this is a coda?, s5 ep 6, there are feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29065962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandwhiteandrose/pseuds/blackandwhiteandrose
Summary: "The Ken issue now behind them, there were two other things that Patrick hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since David had said them earlier in the day. He’d had to catch himself both times, to temper his reactions against the surprise of what he’d heard."
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 41
Kudos: 298





	hasn't stopped me before

Patrick slowly runs his fingers through David’s thoroughly mussed hair, wrecked to an almost cellular level and his heart still not quite beating at its regular rhythm. He feels so much better now, though, deeply satiated and assured that he and David are on the same page about what a committed relationship means for both of them and his desire to be with only David. 

He thinks he can probably appreciate what David was trying to do for him, to give him a chance to experience life as a gay man outside the safety and security of David’s arms. He couldn’t do it… he didn’t want or need the knowledge of what life would be like without David, having come far too close to knowing how it felt during the worst week of his life. 

David shifts against him, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck as he throws his arm across Patrick’s stomach, fingers curling at his waist. He won’t stay still for long, but Patrick is happy to hold him for as long as he can.

The Ken issue now behind them, there were two other things that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since David had said them earlier in the day. He’d had to catch himself both times, to temper his reactions against the surprise of what he’d heard. His heart had definitely skipped a beat at the mention of _five years down the line,_ a thrill of hope that maybe, just maybe the ideas he’d been having of … _forever_ … might be a real possibility for them. He’d certainly let himself daydream about it before, on hikes and shifts alone in the store, wondering how he should propose when the time was right. 

But the other thing, he knew his expression had slipped more than he wanted. He’d been shocked by the casualness with which David just snapped, _hasn’t stopped me before_ as they joked(?) about a married woman with kids _._ Just as he decides to ask for clarification, David rolls away from him, taking the warmth of his body with him. He watches as David walks across the apartment naked, deciding his question can wait a while longer.

David tosses a saucy look over his shoulder as he steps into the bathroom, “I’m going to shower… are you going to let me do that alone?”

Patrick only pretends to hesitate for a moment before he’s out of bed and pulling David in for a lazy kiss as they wait for the water to warm up.

*****

Patrick tries to tell himself he’s making it into a bigger deal than it probably is by letting it stay on his mind. It’s entirely possible that David was just being reactionarily snarky because of the whole _that man was flirting with my boyfriend_ thing _._ But what if he wasn’t? What if things actually happened the way he’s worried that they might have? 

He is aware of plenty about David’s past and that ultimately this new information won’t change anything about the way he thinks or feels about David, but the lack of details about the circumstances has piqued his curiosity to the extreme. Something about this just bothers him, and maybe it’s what it might mean for them, for their future, if David didn’t see marriage as the same commitment he did.

He knows that he and David can talk things through now, though, that’s what they do because they know they have to. They’re getting … fairly good at it even. They’ll discuss it and he’ll be able to stop wondering about it and they’ll move on. Whatever happened in the past can stay there; it doesn’t have to mean anything for them now. 

But he still needs to know.

*****

David comes back to the couch with his second bowl of ice cream and carefully arranges himself next to Patrick, leaning into his side. “Did I miss anything?” he asks, as if he’d somehow been further than five feet away from the laptop and the game that Patrick is streaming to miss his reactions to whatever was happening.

Patrick smiles at David’s attempt to show interest in the game. His team is losing by enough that there’s really no way they’ll come back from it, and his own investment in the game is lessening with each play. He shuts the computer, sets it on the coffee table and turns to fully face David. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” David replies, smirking before slipping a spoonful of rocky road into his mouth.

Patrick shakes his head, feigning exasperation. “Okay, David.”

“You can ask me anything, you know that.” David gives his shoulders the slightest shimmy, ready for some kind of frisky inquiry.

Patrick nods, a single dip of his head before he tries to find the right words. “The other day… after Ken was in the store…” He pauses as David’s expression becomes less playful at the mention of Ken’s name. “It’s not about him. You said something that I just keep thinking about and I need you to tell me about it.”

“Alright…” David’s brow furrows, clearly trying to recall what he may have said.

Patrick takes a deep breath, “You said —when we were talking about that woman and her husband and kids —that … that hadn’t stopped you before. Did you date a married woman? A … a mom?”

David’s face scrunches up more, but it doesn’t stop the bite of ice cream he has midway between his lips.

Patrick watches him, looking for some sort of response, since he’s not talking, but doesn’t find any hints. “You’re just… not gonna answer that?”

“I didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good bite with my past,” David sighs, putting his spoon back into the nearly empty bowl. “I did not _date_ a married woman. _And_ , to be fair, I did _not_ know she was married _or_ that she had children when we were hooking up.”

Patrick tries to keep his relief as contained as possible and waits for David to say more. 

“What do you want me to tell you?” David asks.

Patrick shrugs, “Everything? Who was she? Where did you meet her? When did you find out she was married? Or that she had kids? Just...what happened, I guess.”

David listens to his list of questions and waits a moment before speaking, in case there might be another. “We met at a club. She came up to me at the bar and … grabbed me.”

“Grabbed you?” Patrick raises an eyebrow, wondering if he means that in the way his tone insinuated.

“Yes, hand-on-my-dick grabbed me,” David clarifies. “I knew she was interested and that was enough for me. She came home with me that night and it’s not like we … _talked_ about much. Not that her husband or ... _children_ would have been something that she would have mentioned at that particular point, anyway.”

“So, how did you find out she was married?”

“After a couple of weeks of her coming to my place, she finally took me to hers. I could tell it was, like, a home, not just some place she would have lived by herself, but she definitely didn't stop to give me a tour on the way to her bedroom,” David says.

Patrick shudders a little, the unwanted image of this unknown woman —that he’s picturing as some kind of blonde supermodel, pulling David through the house that she shared with her family — taking up space in his mind. “Did you see pictures of them together or something?”

“No, we were...” He stops, like he’s debating how to say what comes next, and shifts on the couch. “We were fucking and she says, ‘Hey, lover,’ and I thought she was talking to me. She wasn’t. And then I feel a hand on my shoulder that is definitely not hers.”

Patrick’s eyes go wide. “Oh, shit.” 

David gives a quick nod, “She was not particularly bothered by him showing up, but he very much _went to the gym_ , and looked understandably displeased that I was there. So I grabbed a sheet and hopped out the window to the fire escape.”

“You.. went _out the window._ To a fire escape,” Patrick repeats, trying to process this very un-David-like scenario.

“I left a brand new Amiri sweater there, too.” David frowns. 

Patrick blinks a few times, incredulous. “You climbed down a fire escape in a sheet?!” 

“How else was I going to get out of there?”

“I’m guessing that might also have contributed to your fear of heights?” Patrick surmises.

“It certainly didn’t _help_.” 

“This is wild. I might have expected that kind of story from Alexis, but…” He trails off, still having trouble with the idea of David making a break for it wrapped in a swathe of fabric through the streets of New York City. “So, her husband caught you. Was that the end of it?”

“Basically. She showed up at my gallery a few days later, saying she wanted to apologize because she ‘thought he’d be gone longer.’ I guess he travelled a lot, so she found people to... keep her company when he was away. And then she tells me that the nanny has the kids at the Children’s Museum for the day, so we can ‘finish what we started’. I said _no thank you_ and escorted her out. And that was the end of it.” He shrugged a little. “I still can’t believe she didn’t even bring the sweater with her.”

Patrick leans back into the cushions of the couch, both relieved and a little sad. He’s glad the series of events he’d been worrying about was apparently not what had gone down, but he also aches for David, as he usually does after he learns about another piece of the puzzle from his life before Schitt’s Creek. He will never understand how so many people have been so careless with this beautiful soul.

David watches him expectantly for a moment, as if he is awaiting some kind of judgement for what he’s shared. Patrick reaches for him, tugging on him to move back closer to him. He adjusts his position, tucking himself under Patrick’s outstretched arm. “What are you thinking?”

Patrick presses a kiss to his temple. “I’m glad you told me so now I know the story.”

“You were worried about it, weren’t you?” David asks, quietly.

He considers his response for a moment. “I was … surprised… when you said it. How you said it.”

“I blame Alexis. And Ken.” 

Patrick chuckles, “Of course.”

He glances at Patrick, sitting up suddenly, “You know I wouldn’t have done it, right?”

Patrick looks shocked at the flurry of movement and David’s serious expression. “I’m going to need you to explain that.”

“If I had known she was married, I would never have slept with her. Being cheated on _sucks_. I wouldn’t do that to someone.” David grabs Patrick’s hand, like he wants to make sure he’s listening and understands how much he means what he’s about to say. “I’ve made some spectacularly terrible choices and I regret a lot of things, including that particular… dalliance. But I also still have, had even back then, some lines that I wouldn’t cross and that’s one of them. I may have thought there was no chance I would ever get married at that point, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t respect the idea of it. My parents have been together for almost 40 years. I know what love looks like, even if I didn’t know what it _felt_ like until recently.”

Patrick bites his lip to keep from smiling as David speaks. He feels like it’s an inappropriate reaction to the overall story, but he can’t help it. David is saying everything he needed to hear without knowing and it makes his heart happy in a way he can’t really describe. 

David eyes him suspiciously, “What’s that look for?”

“You said you didn’t think there was a chance you’d get married in the past. Do you think there’s a chance you might get married now?” Patrick inquires, trying to sound as casual as he possibly can.

David focuses on something across the room, trying to avoid looking at Patrick. “I didn’t mean… I was just saying… that’s not… that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh. Okay. I was just wondering, you know, if you ever thought about it like I do.” He puts a finger under David’s chin, bringing him face-to-face. He can see the statement register in David’s dark eyes, as he puts together what Patrick just admitted.

“You do?”

Patrick smirks, “I can see us together at least _five years down the line_ , can’t you?”

“You mean now that you’ve realized how good you have it with me?” David taunts back, his fingertips skimming over Patrick’s shoulder.

“I’ve always known how good I have it with you, David.” 

David rolls his eyes, attempting to combat the sincerity of Patrick’s earnest-eyed admission. “I’m sure _always_ isn’t entirely correct.”

Patrick chuckles. “You seem to forget that I was continually putting myself in your way from basically the first day I met you. I just wanted to be around you all the time.” 

“And now? Even when you find out something new and awful about me?” 

“I love learning about you. I never want to stop learning about you. But not a single thing I’ve found out has been awful. Disconcerting? Sure… I’m still a little iffy on you retrieving cupcakes from the garbage, but I guess we all have some... quirks.” Patrick leans in to kiss him, but David pulls away before he has the chance. “What?”

“That’s what you find disconcerting? The cupcakes? I just told you someone cheated on their husband with me!” David’s voice rises with each word he says, as he gestures into the air around them.

“And you also told me you didn’t continue to see her after you knew. If you’d have said you didn’t care she was married and had kids and you kept sneaking around, that would have bothered me. That’s why I asked you, I didn’t want to think it was some torrid affair and someone’s family fell apart because of it,” Patrick says, calmly, taking David’s hand in his own. “You hooked up with someone and found out they weren’t being honest, that’s not on you.”

David takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, like he’s trying to hold himself together in the wake of another wave of genuine emotion from the perfect storm of Patrick’s devotion and acceptance of everything about him. “Thank you,” he whispers.

Patrick slips his arm around David’s back, pulling him in for the kiss he was denied a moment ago. David sighs against his mouth, sweet and longing. Patrick’s hold on him becomes tighter, the kiss tinged with lust. He nips at David’s lower lip, “Let’s go to bed?”

“Yes. Yep.” 

*****

Patrick watches as David takes a slow sip of his coffee, eyes closing to relish the bittersweet taste. He loves to witness David enjoying something, especially simple pleasures that seem so domestic and make their relationship feel solid and lived in. He also appreciates the way that David practically has him trained by giving _good morning_ head and then rolling back over to get some more sleep while Patrick makes coffee and then delivers it to him in bed. They both wake up happy, so it’s a win for each of them, really.

He sits on the edge of the bed, smiling at the soft, contented sounds David makes while he drinks. He knows he needs to get ready to go open the store, but he wants to linger - basking in the easy, dreamy feel of the beginning of the day when it’s just the two of them. 

David sets his mug on the nightstand and stretches, his nightshirt creeping up to expose a sliver of stomach and dark hair. Patrick hesitates for only a moment, unable to resist the urge to slip his hand under David’s shirt, his fingertips skimming over warm skin as he leans in for a kiss.

“Ew, no,” David says, turning away from Patrick. “I taste like morning breath, come, and coffee. It’s gross.”

Patrick snorts. “We’ve established you have a sloppy mouth, David.”

“And yet you still want to kiss me,” David chides, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Hasn’t stopped me before.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The "hasn't stopped me before" line has stuck with me since the first time I saw the episode. I noticed that Patrick visibly reacts to it and I just thought he'd probably have some questions. So I decided to explore that, because I needed a story to go with it.
> 
> \- - - -
> 
> Thank you, TrueIllusion, for your honesty and beta-ing, and EggplantSalad for giving me the right ideas!


End file.
